In my last post I discussed that prayer is being in communion with others. Here is a link to it. As a reminder, I mentioned that I think of prayer in four manners. Prayer is speaking to God. Prayer is listening to God. Prayer is being in communion with others. Prayer is resting in God. In this final piece, I will comment on how prayer is resting in God.
Prayer is resting in God. What does resting in God mean?
I enter the rest of God by a contemplative practice called centering prayer. This practice teaches me to let go of all thoughts and emotions. When I let go, I open to God. I consent to God’s presence and action within.
I am sitting with God. I am not talking to God. I am not listening to God. I am in God’s presence. I am letting God act in me.
Sitting in silence is difficult. When I first started doing it, I could only last a minute. Then I did it for two minutes. Then I did it for five minutes. Then I did it for ten minutes. Finally, on June 1, 2014, I decided to make it 20 minutes. I have not looked back. On most days, I do it twice. My first time of centering prayer is first thing in the morning before I start my day. It is a refreshing and beautiful way to begin my day!
Sometimes, if I awake in the middle of the night I center then too. It is not uncommon for me to even center at midnight, and at three or four am. My second session is usually in the afternoon or evening sometime after dinner. Again, I am not speaking to God. I am not listening to God. I am simply resting in God. I am letting God act in me. I am letting God heal me.
This quote by Thomas Keating so beautifully describes to me what happens in the rest of God during centering prayer. “In centering prayer both thoughts contain what needs to be healed and the silence creates a space for the healing to take place.”
I encourage everyone to practice silence. For me, I practice centering prayer. For others it may be a different form of silent practice to let God act in you. Try it. And see what happens.
